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County Employment and Wages in Washington – Third Quarter 2018

Employment increased in 9 of Washington’s 10 large counties from September 2017 to September 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2017 annual average employment.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that employment increases ranged from 3.4 percent in Thurston County to 1.4 percent in Whatcom County. Employment decreased 0.1 percent in Yakima County. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment advanced 1.6 percent from September 2017 to September 2018 as 295 of the 349 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Midland, Texas, had the largest percentage increase in the country, up 11.9 percent over the year. New Hanover, N.C., had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment with a loss of 2.0 percent.

Among the 10 largest counties in Washington, employment was highest in King County (1,404,000) in September 2018, while Kitsap County had the smallest employment level (90,500). Together, Washington’s large counties accounted for 85.0 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 349 largest counties made up 73.0 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 146.8 million in September 2018.

Average weekly wages increased in all of Washington’s 10 largest counties from the third quarter of 2017 to the third quarter of 2018. King County had the largest wage gain at 7.9 percent, followed by Whatcom County at 5.3 percent and Thurston County at 5.1 percent. King County had the highest average weekly wage ($1,752), followed by Snohomish County ($1,132) and Benton County ($1,063). (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage advanced 3.3 percent over the year to $1,055 in the third quarter of 2018.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 29 counties in Washington with employment below 75,000. All of these smaller counties had average weekly wages below the national average in the third quarter of 2018. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

All 10 large counties in Washington had increases in average weekly wages from the third quarter of 2017 to the third quarter of 2018. King County’s 7.9-percent wage gain placed second among the nation’s 349 large counties. Two other Washington counties ranked in the top 25 nationwide, Whatcom (5.3 percent, 21st) and Thurston (5.1 percent, 23rd). (See table 1.)

Nationally, 336 of the 349 largest counties had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the third quarter of 2018. Chatham, GA, had the largest third quarter over-the-year wage gain at 8.5 percent, followed by King, WA, and Santa Clara, CA, and Stanislaus, CA, each at 7.8 percent.

Of the 349 largest U.S. counties, 11 had over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Elkhart, IN, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease with a loss of 4.2 percent. Elkhart was followed by Union, NJ (-3.7 percent); Providence, RI (-3.4 percent); and Forsyth, NC (-3.0 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in three of Washington’s large counties placed in the top third of the national ranking. King County ($1,752, 6th); Snohomish ($1,132, 61st); and Benton (1,063, 92nd) had weekly wages that exceeded the national average in the third quarter of 2018. The two counties with the lowest average weekly wages—Whatcom ($898, 237th) and Yakima ($764, 332nd)—placed in the bottom third of the largest U.S. counties.

Nationally, 94 large counties had average weekly wages above the U.S. average of $1,055 in the third quarter of 2018. Santa Clara, CA, held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,460. San Mateo, CA, was second at $2,363, followed by San Francisco, CA ($2,097); New York, NY ($1,997); and Washington, DC ($1,807).

Among the largest U.S. counties, 255 had weekly wages below the national average in the third quarter of 2018. Cameron, TX, had the lowest wage ($632), followed by Horry, SC ($635); Hidalgo, TX ($662); and Webb, TX ($698).

Average weekly wages in Washington’s smaller counties

All 29 counties in Washington with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $1,055. Among these counties, Cowlitz County had the highest average weekly wage at $969. Okanogan County reported the lowest weekly wage among all counties in the state, averaging $650 in the third quarter of 2018. (See table 2.)

When all 39 counties in Washington were considered, 3 had wages below $700. Fourteen counties had average weekly wages ranging from $700 to $799, 8 had wages from $800 to $899, 10 had wages from $900 to $999, and 4 had wages at or above $1,000. (See chart 1.)

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3. For additional information about quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit www.bls.gov/cew.

Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2017 edition of this publication contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2018 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2017 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn17.htm. The 2018 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2019.

The County Employment and Wages release for fourth quarter 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 22, 2019.

QCEW Publication Acceleration and Conversion to Two Data Releases

The QCEW publication process is accelerating for a more timely release. Beginning with the fourth quarter 2017 release, QCEW data will be published in two parts. The current County Employment and Wages news release and associated data will be accelerated and published first. The full QCEW data release will occur two weeks later, accompanied by a data release notice.

Technical Note

Average weekly wage data by county are compiled under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, also known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from summaries of employment and total pay of workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels of those covered by UI programs. The result is then divided by 13, the number of weeks in a quarter, then divide the result. It is to be noted, therefore, that over-the-year wage changes for geographic areas may reflect shifts in the composition of employment by industry, occupation, and such other factors as hours of work. Thus, wages may vary among counties, metropolitan areas, or states for reasons other than changes in the average wage level. Data for all states, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), counties, and the nation are available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cew; however, data in QCEW press releases have been revised and may not match the data contained on the Bureau’s Web site.

QCEW data are not designed as a time series. QCEW data are simply the sums of individual establishment records reflecting the number of establishments that exist in a county or industry at a point in time. Establishments can move in or out of a county or industry for a number of reasons–some reflecting economic events, others reflecting administrative changes.

The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from data released by the individual states as well as from the data presented on the BLS Web site. These potential differences result from the states’ continuing receipt, review and editing of UI data over time. On the other hand, differences between data in this release and the data found on the BLS Web site are the result of adjustments made to improve over-the-year comparisons. Specifically, these adjustments account for administrative (noneconomic) changes such as a correction to a previously reported location or industry classification. Adjusting for these administrative changes allows users to more accurately assess changes of an economic nature (such as a firm moving from one county to another or changing its primary economic activity) over a 12-month period. Currently, adjusted data are available only from BLS press releases.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Footnotes:​(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.​(2) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications.​(3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.​(4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Footnotes:​(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.​(2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.​(3) Data not included in the national ranking.